Commencement



Me and Mariska Roo pre-ceremony

 The day has come and gone and I am officially a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University as the recipient of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations & Multimedia Journalism, Cum Laude. It's been such an interesting four years, starting when I was just a senior in high school arriving to school an hour early, meeting Lukas in the parking lot, because we were paranoid we'd miss or not find our first class on the campus of L-R after being accepted to the High School Scholars Academy. I can remember the feeling of excitement then and while it faded away after time, I still cling to it a bit; the child-like fear, the adult-like setting and the inbetween stage of life I was beginning.


Four, short years later, I turned my tassel on the field of Moretz Stadium and closed yet another chapter in my life. It was a bittersweet day that held tears of sadness and smiles of joy. In the stands sat my parents, sisters, inlaws and a few friends; in my heart, my grandmother and my better half.



Sisters



I know that as I walked up to recieve my diploma, the nerves disappeared and the idea of, "this is it" kind of hit me. It was done and, this, too, had passed. It was a crazy, crazy feeling to know that it was all said and done and I had made it to the end of my undergraduate career. I stood beside family, taking picture after picture and I'd be lying to say I wasn't proud of myself. There were many nights I was unsure that this would ever happen, but it certainly did.

Lydia, Me, Taylor, Kyle

Jen, Dad & Makala

 



Gina, Me, Mom

When it was all said and done, I was given flowers and a card from E, and I'm not going to lie, it was the highlight of my night. More important than my degree, more loved than anyone else who could have come to my graduation and more missed than anyone who couldn't come was my husband. 



Flowers and a card from my husband :)

The day after graduation, it was slightly surreal. While I certainly look forward to the days of summer, it isn't the same anticipation that I normally have. When you're in school, the magic of summer is that it's fleeting. You only have a few months to live it up until you're back to the books for another semester. I'm not sure that my excitement for the summer season is quite the same, but this summer, I'm definitely looking forward to realaxing a bit more than usual, considering my workload just decreased by about 75% for the first time in years.

I also got a sweet, surprise text from someone that I honestly never thought I'd hear from again. I don't know what it means, really. Things certainly aren't as they were a year ago, but they must not be as bad as they were three months ago. I'm so, so thankful for that. The whole ordeal had truly crushed my spirit for awhile and left me slightly changed.

Overall, I think graduation was a success. Could it have been better? Of course. I was .03 away from graduating Magna Cum Laude, my husband couldn't be there, a few other people who I had sort of hoped would show up didn't come and I never managed to finish my minor in Psychology because those 6 credits couldn't fit in my schedule. But you know what? I finished. And I'm happy with it and I thank God for it.

And besides, I have a new chapter in life to start writing... cheers to that.